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Reviews
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
I love Marty, but...
Yes, the acting is first rate. Yes the film-making is wonderful and the sets and locations are all impeccable. But this movie is so self-indulgent, so bloated and unevenly paced, so repetitious and tedious, that it simply does not work.
I think perhaps Scorsese was too close to this. I know he'd been trying to get it made, like, forever. But perhaps his masterpiece was Raging Bull, and that was really DeNiro's picture. Maybe Scorsese is better when someone else supplies the vision. Like Paul Schrader.
Also, where the heck was Thelma? She's a brilliant editor, surely she must have know that the pace was totally off. That really has me scratching my head.
I wanted to love this movie, and I don't hate it, but it's maybe at the bottom of the list for me. That's a great list, of course. Scorsese is a treasure.
'Master Harold'... and the Boys (1985)
Changed me
I found this on YouTube recently, and it reminded me of the time many years ago when I saw this on television. I was a young man (25) at the time, and it just tore me up. I would like to think that I was already a non-racist, but I know that this movie grounded and solidified my opinions and feeling on the topic like nothing else ever has.
It sneaks up on you. Three people talking in room about ballroom dancing, geography, history, and kite flying. You don't see it coming, but it gradually becomes one of the most profound statements on how racism hurts everyone, including (and maybe especially) the racist himself.
Nothing before or since in my life has effected me in precisely the way this did, and does. The acting is superb, and the writing.... well, Atholl Fugard is a genius.
See this version. I assume the Ving Rhames film is also good, but it has a much larger cast and so I suspect they added a lot of new material to "open it up" as Hollywood likes to do. I'll see it, but you must see this version first. Also, Zakes Mokae won a Tony award for this portrayal of Sam, and it is so obvious as to why. His final soliloquy to Hally made me cry. Then, and now.
The Twilight Zone: Walking Distance (1959)
Loved it
I must say, however, that Serling clearly had a thing for band concerts.
The Twilight Zone: The Changing of the Guard (1962)
A favorite for teachers
Any teacher would love to know that their work had mattered so much...
The Twilight Zone: The Trade-Ins (1962)
The solution is obvious
He gets the new body, works for a year or two, saves up the 5k and then she gets her new body. She's not the one in pain, she can easily wait.
The Twilight Zone: Little Girl Lost (1962)
Fun, but...
Your daughter is missing so you... call a physicist? Uh huh...
The Twilight Zone: To Serve Man (1962)
What time is it?
The protagonist asks the Kanamit "what time is it?" The reply is that time has no meaning in space. Which is correct. Then our hero smugly replies "what time is it on Earth?" as if the Kanamit is being dense. Of course the response should be "where on earth, you moron..." Just an example of how silly and pedantic this one is. I never understood why it is so popular.
The OA (2016)
Not a sequel or a remake or a comic book
Interesting how divisive this show is. People seem to either love it or hate it, and frankly I can understand both points of view. What you cannot legitimately argue is that it is derivative or unoriginal. I've never seen anything quite like it.
Part of the plot involves the concept of the multi-verse (I really don't think that's a spoiler) and once you understand that, then the plot logic problems become a very different matter. They don't go away, they just potentially change into something else.
If you want to see something new, something you have not seen before, and if you like a slow burn, then this show is worth your time. It's only 8 episodes, and if nothing else you'll love the performance of Jason Isaacs (I have not read one negative comment about him).
But if you're like me, the show will simply not leave your mind, even months after you finish it. These days, I'm shocked when something this ambitious and original gets made at all. Thank the heavens for Netflix.
Hugo (2011)
Wonderful, complex, subtle tale from Scorsese/Schoonmaker
The negative reviews you see here should not dissuade you from seeing this gem. I think a lot of people were expecting something other than they got, and did not accept the film on its own terms.
First, this is not for little kids. It's a story that centers on a child's experience, but it is about deeper themes and the history of cinema. Georges Melies was a genius of the early days of film, and a tragic figure whose career was destroyed by WWI and the thievery of many, including Thomas Edison. Hugo is a story about the redemption of a broken man, told though the eyes of a child who is trying to find his place in the world as a fixer of broken things.
It is a visual masterpiece (in 2D or 3D; I differ with those who say the 3D "matters" in this film. It's fine, but not needed) and introduces us to a wonderful young actor in Asa Butterfield. Look for him in the upcoming "Ender's Game". The entire cast is superb, with Ben Kingsley at his best, Chloe Grace Moretz shining brightly, and a remarkably controlled performance by Sacha Baron Cohen.
See Hugo! But go in with an open mind, and you won't be disappointed.